Wisconsin Chapter National Railway Historical Society Volume 68 Number 2 February 2018 Sparks and Cinders Our purpose as members of Wisconsin Chapter—National Railway Historical Society is to gather, preserve and disseminate information, both historic and current, pertaining to railroading in Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest. Visit the Chapter Webpage www.nrhswis.org In a scene unable to be repeated. Amtrak #511 leads a northbound Hiawatha train at the old Sturtevant Depot. The new Sturtevant Depot is a couple miles up the track now off Highway 20. This depot has been preserved in a park in Caledonia. Photo by Al Baker In This Issue • From the President • Riding the Rails with the Borleskes • Interesting Railfan Day in Southeast Wisconsin 1 Upcoming Events February 2018 Midwest Railroads in 1989 and 2001 with Al Baker TMER&THS (Traction and Bus Club) Al Baker remarks: "February 2018 marks my return to the www.tmer.org Wisconsin Chapter presentation roster. I lived in Danbury, CT Saturday February 17, 2018 2005-2016 and last presented to the Chapter prior to 2005. For NEW LOCATION - Waterstone Bank February, I’ll use a program I presented at the Danbury Rail- 6560 S 27th Street way Museum (they hold weekly slide shows) about Midwest “Here Comes Our Bus” by Milw County Transit System railroading in the years 1989 and 2001, focusing primarily on the Milwaukee and Wisconsin areas. NMRA WISE Division Monthly Meet Saturday February 17, 2018 8am to 4pm I have been shooting slides with my brother, Bob, since the Bus Trip to Mad City Train Show early 1970’s. I converted to digital photography in 2007. I look Alliant Energy Center, Madison WI forward to sharing this work with the Wisconsin Chapter at Check out www.wisedivision.org for information and cost future meetings." Mad City Train Show - Madison WI Saturday Feb 17 and Sunday Feb 18 Meetings are held at the North Shore Congregational Church at Alliant Energy Center 7330 N Santa Monica Blvd in Fox Point in the lower level. The meeting room at the North Shore Congregation Church is NRHS National Convention handicap accessible. www.nrhs.com August 7-12. 2018 Please watch the Chapter webpage www.nrhswi.org for Cumberland, MD any weather cancellations Milwaukee Road Historical Association www.mrha.com National Convention Watch the webpage for information Wisconsin Chapter Meeting Schedule C&NW Historical Society www.cnwhs..org National Convention May 17-20, 2018 Friday February 2, 2018 Al Baker Rapid City, South Dakota Friday March 2, 2018 To Be Announced Friday April 6, 2018 Rob McGonigal Soo Line Historical and Technical Society www.sooline.org MEETINGS NOW START AT 7:30PM !!! Watch for upcoming events Programs Subject to Change If you would like to present a program Green Bay & Western Historical Society at a Chapter Meeting Annual Meeting Banquet Contact Dave Nelson at email [email protected] Saturday April 28, 2018 Best Western Green Bay Inn 780 Armed Forces Dr Green Bay, WI Same Saturday as Titletown Train Show January 2018 Meeting Summary There were 29 people in attendance at 7:31 pm, when Dave Thank You to all those that contributed to this issue of Nelson began explaining the rules for the annual formal business Sparks and Cinders. Member contributions make this newslet- meeting. The minutes of that meeting are presented separately ter YOUR newsletter. - Sparks and Cinders Editor from the discussions and announcements here. The formal busi- ness meeting began at 7:33 pm, and adjourned at 7:40 pm. Wisconsin Chapter Now on Facebook !! Dave Nelson offered to turn the meeting over to newly elected Thanks to Keith Schmidt the Chapter now has a Facebook President Bob Baker. Bob declined the offer. Dave Nelson con- Page. It Can be accessed at http://www.facebook.com/pages/ tinued to lead this month’s meeting. Wisconsin-Chapter-NRHS/170129169765334 (Must enter the Treasurer Tom Hoffmann reported holiday contributions of number string) $200.00 to North Shore Congregational Church and $50.00 to Sparks and Cinders is published their custodian, with our appreciation for the continued use of the by the Wisconsin Chapter, building. Tom is working through a large number of 2018 dues National Railway Historical payments. A complete financial report will be made available Society. President: Dave Nelson once that work is completed. 1506 E Fox Lane Fox Point, WI Tom Hoffmann presented an important correction to page 7 of 53217. Send all address changes the January 2018 edition of Sparks & Cinders. The Great Tri- and dues to the treasurer, Tom State Rail Show & Sale, in La Crosse, will be held on Saturday, Hoffmann, 1102 Aspen Dr., January 27 (NOT on January 18—as shown in S&C. January 18 Waukesha, WI 53188. Send all is a Thursday.). material for publication to the inter- The 2018 annual banquet will not be a Pallas Restaurant. New ownership has taken over. They are no longer accepting banquet im editor, Keith Schmidt 3286 S 2 Springfield Ave Milw, WI 53207 reservations for less than 75 people. They are looking for wed- or at [email protected] dings on Saturday nights. Our typical attendance has been in the - continued from Page 2 30’s. We are looking for another site, on the same proposed And to all who sit as board of directors, please keep doing it! date of Saturday, May 5. Several suggestions were offered. Finally congratulate Greg Mross as he exits the board and wel- The leadership is keeping our options open for now. come my brother Al Baker as he joins. Long-term member and past presenter Ed Wilkommen So what can we do as a group in the upcoming year? I would passed away recently. His obituary is in the Milwaukee Jour- like your input and welcome your support. Please email me nal Sentinel. what is on your mind, on any subject. My email address is: Dave Nelson reported that NRHS National processed his [email protected]. credit card payment for 2018 renewal. He has not yet received As I look forward to the upcoming year I see preserving our his new membership card. The new membership renewal sys- membership and yes growing its total numbers. Unfortunately tem is working, albeit slowly. the deck is stacked against us. I myself, at age 65, represent the Some railfans were on board, and among the casualties, graying of the baby boomers. And I think our combined dues when the first run of the Amtrak Cascades over its new routing (both local and national) are far too high for what we get in re- south of Seattle, Washington, derailed in December. The turn. The younger generations aren’t into history and what they trains was a Talgo set manufactured in 1996. They were not are interested in, they get instantly off the internet, for free. then producing trains in Milwaukee. The cause remains under And so it goes. investigation. It appears to be have been excessive speed on a Let’s see if we can get more people to our meetings and into curve. That is not attributable to the manufacturer. our organization. Then show them a good time. I look forward Dave Nelson asked if there were any first-time attendees or to hearing from you. guests present. There were three. John Schreiber and his 13- year-old son Charlie from Bayside became subscribers. Jeff Bob Baker Marker had met them at the railfan park in Rochelle, Illinois. Dennis Schmidt found out about us at Train Fest in November. Jeff Marker announced that the TMER&T Historical Socie- The minutes of the business meeting portion of the evening will ty will present a program on the North Shore Line, on the 55th be published in a later issue of Sparks and Cinders due to the anniversary of its abandonment, at Waterstone Bank, 6560 length of the minutes and summary. Editor S&C South 27th Street (south of College Avenue, on the east side of 27th Street), in Oak Creek, on Saturday, January 20. It will 1989 and 2001 in Wisconsin - Railroads That Is begin at 2:30 pm, and run for about 2 hours. Jerry Krug reported that the last two C&NW-painted units Come and join Al Baker as he shares photos from Wisconsin had been repainted into Union Pacific colors, due to the wors- and Milwaukee area from 1989 and 2001. Below is a sample of ening condition of their 22-plus year old paint, and the desire what will be seen on Friday February 2nd. Photos by Al Baker for a unified corporate image. The announcements and discussion above ended at 7:52 pm. Bob Baker introduced our presenter Jerry Krug. Jerry is a native of Reedsburg, Wisconsin. He graduated from UW- Madison, and is Certified Public Accountant. He is a past president of the Chicago & North Western Historical Society, and assembled the 2018 C&NW HS calendar. Jerry is also a member of the NRHS Wisconsin Chapter. Jerry provided each of us with two pages of Santa Fe maps to go with his presentation. He took us on an extensive slide tour of the pre-1995 pre-merger Santa Fe, with some historical images going back to the 1950’s, from Dearborn Station in Chicago to the Pacific Coast in California. The presentation ended at 9:02 pm. Respectfully Submitted Thomas W. Marcussen Above - Southbound at Sturtevant, WI Below - Southbound on Byron Hill from Hwy F Overpass From the President It is only January 8th, and I am already tired of the cold weather. Nonetheless, spring is coming (eventually); and it is my pleasure to serve you as the new president of the Wisconsin Chapter NRHS.